The present invention relates to kick scooters and, more particularly, to a folding collapsible kick scooter, which can be conveniently carried by hand when collapsed.
In early days, kick scooters were heavy and not collapsible. Nowadays, commercially available kick scooters are compact and folding collapsible. FIG. 1A shows a folding collapsible kick scooter according to the prior art. According to this structure of folding collapsible kick scooter, the head frame A can be turned from the operative position shown in FIG. 1A to the non-operative position shown in FIG. 1B. When collapsing the kick scooter, the quick-release lock is unlocked, and then the head frame A (which is coupled to the front coupling frame D by a slip joint) is pulled downwards relative to the front coupling frame D of the footplate B to disengage the locating rod C from the retaining notch E, and then the head frame A is turned with the handlebar and front wheel assembly G about the pivot F at the front coupling frame D from the vertical position shown in FIG. 1A the horizontal position shown in FIG. 1B. This structure of folding collapsible kick scooter is still not satisfactory in function. The drawbacks of this folding collapsible kick scooter are outlined hereinafter.
1. When collapsing the kick scooter, the user""s hands tend to be injured by the protruded parts of the kick scooter.
2. Because the handlebar and front wheel assembly is disposed in contact with the inside wall of the head frame, the coating of the stem of the handlebar and front wheel assembly tends to be damaged when adjusting the elevation of the handlebar.
3. Because the handlebar of the handlebar and front wheel assembly is a straight bar not orthopedically engineered, it is not comfortable in use, and the rider tends to be injured by the handlebar accidentally.
The present invention has been accomplished to provide a folding collapsible kick scooter, which eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks. According to one aspect of the present invention, the folding collapsible kick scooter comprises a footplate, a head tube collapsibly coupled to the front side of the footplate by a joint and lock unit, a stem moved in and out of the head tube and releasably locked in position by a quick-release lock, a handlebar connector mounted on the top end of the stem to hold two handlebars, a press control lock installed in the handlebar connector and adapted to lock the handlebars between two positions, a front wheel holder fixedly fastened to the bottom end of the head tube and holding a front wheel on a front suspension arm thereof, a rear wheel holder fixedly fastened to the rear side of the footplate and holding a rear wheel on a rear suspension arm thereof, and a rear fender pivoted to the rear wheel holder and supported on spring means and served as a foot brake for stopping the rear well from rotation. According to another aspect of the present invention, a flexible bush is mounted in the top end of the head tube to guide movement of the stem, and to prevent direct contact of the stem with the inside wall of the head tube. According to still another present aspect of the present invention, the handlebars are curved rod members orthopedically engineered. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the front wheel holder comprises a front suspension arm, which supports the front wheel, and the rear wheel holder comprises a rear suspension arm, which supports the rear wheel.